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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28162806">Life is a Game and I Must Win</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Havearosieday/pseuds/Havearosieday'>Havearosieday</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Haunting of Bly Manor</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Damie fluff, DanixJamie, F/F, One-Shot, damie - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 18:34:43</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,323</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28162806</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Havearosieday/pseuds/Havearosieday</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Jamie discovers Dani’s competitive side and loves every minute of it.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dani Clayton &amp; Jamie</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>49</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Life is a Game and I Must Win</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It started with a game of checkers. Jamie came into the kitchen one afternoon to find Dani and Miles sitting at the table, engrossed in a competitive game of checkers. Jamie isn’t sure how she thought this scenario would go, probably with Dani losing on purpose, or at least making it a teachable moment and explaining to Miles her strategy as she went. But that is not the scenario she ran into. <br/>Miles was staring at the board, which had significantly more red pieces on it than black, in a look of defeat. He huffed, his arms crossed. Jamie figured by the look on his face that he was black. He moved his black piece to what seemed like a perfectly safe and empty square in the mind of a 10-year old boy. But Jamie could see it right away, Dani was going to double jump him.</p><p>    Jamie, who was now standing against the kitchen island watching the game intently with a box of biscuits in her hand, almost fell over when she saw the look on Dani’s face. The sparkle in her eyes. She was triumphant and had no mercy for the poor little boy. She wasn’t even trying to let him come close to winning. Jamie felt a rush of heat, her cheeks suddenly on fire. She couldn’t take her eyes off the pure adrenaline in Dani’s eyes. The excitement of her winning was a palpable energy in the room. </p><p>    Dani took a second to pretend to look at the board and see what her next move was, but Jamie could tell she knew from the moment Miles moved that black game piece. Then Dani, as if in surprise, picked up her red piece and obliterated two of Mile’s remaining four pieces. His face fell, his eyes full of confusion. How could he have missed it?</p><p>    Jamie swallowed hard when she saw Dani’s face, so clearly trying to remain neutral and unbothered by this game. She was trying not to make Miles feel bad, but Jamie could see that the blonde was bursting with pride and triumph. She had never seen this side of Dani, so ruthless in a way that was harmless and fun and even dare she say...hot? </p><p>    Poor Miles was staring at the board in utter confusion at how he could get himself out of this. He was about to move one of his last pieces into harm's way when Jamie took pity on him. “Might wanna look again there, mate. Seems like the other square may be a safer bet.”<br/>    “Hey!” Dani said. “No interference from the bleachers.” Her face was straight, she was serious. She meant business. </p><p>    Jamie threw her arms up in mock surrender. “Sorry there, Poppins, just thought I would help the poor boy keep from getting crushed.”<br/>    “Losing builds character,” Dani said, nodding at Miles. “We can’t always get what we want, right?”</p><p>    Miles looked miserable, defeated. Jamie knew from experience he was used to playing adults who pitied him, who let him win. This feeling was surely new for him. </p><p>    Jamie looked back to Dani, who didn't seem to be bothered by Mile’s frown or crumpled eyebrows. She stared down at the board, eyes gleaming with a confidence Jamie had not seen in the blonde. Dani Clayton, she learned, was competitive and ruthless. She would do anything to win. And Jamie wanted to find out how far she would go. </p><p>***<br/>    The second time Jamie saw this side of Dani was a few weeks later, sitting on an airplane with nothing but the memories of screaming children and ghost possessions to occupy their minds. It was a long flight from London to Philadelphia and Jamie didn’t know how Dani was going to do with so many hours for the mind to wander. Jamie could already see her far-off expression as she stared out the window of the plane. She knew Dani was wrestling with something she would always try, but never quite be able to comprehend. <br/>    Jamie wanted her back. She needed Dani back. </p><p>    She reached down into the depths of her backpack to find a discarded ballpoint pen. Dani watched with curiosity and she bit the top off with her mouth and pulled her cocktail napkin closer. </p><p>    “Fancy a game of tic-tac-toe?”</p><p>    Dani’s face lit up like it was Christmas morning, the first time her smile had reached both eyes (one now a startling brown) in a week. </p><p>    The first game ended in a draw, as so many games of tic-tac-toe did. Jamie revelled in the way Dani bit her bottom lip as she concentrated. How she stared at the board and thought of every possible outcome before carefully scratching an “X” into the napkin. Dani was not satisfied with a draw. </p><p>    “Again,” she said as she began drawing a new board on the other side of the napkin. </p><p>    The second game, Dani won. But only because Jamie let her. And she would let her win a million times to see the triumph and glory on Dani’s face. When it came to games, Dani lacked all humility. </p><p>    “Hah! In your face!” Dani said as she pulled her elbow in in victory. </p><p>    “In my what now?” Jamie laughed.</p><p>    “This is fun,” Dani said, “Let’s play again.”</p><p>    So they played for another hour, Jamie letting Dani win most games and letting some end in a tie. She never beat Dani, never even tried. There was no point in ruining the fun of Dani’s success. </p><p>    With every victory Dani grew more and more cocky, as Jamie grew more and more fond of her new companion. Oh, the fun I can have with this, she thought.</p><p>***<br/>    They made their way up the east coast, stopping in small towns and big cities and enjoying everything America had to offer. The stops were fun, they ate at new restaurants and tried new cocktails. They went to museums and read books on the beach. But the open roads were long and there were only so many songs on the radio. Whenever Jamie looked over to see Dani’s stare out the window seem far-off, like the endless hours on the road gave her too much time to think about the beast within, she would say, “fancy a road trip game?”</p><p>    The first game, at Dani’s suggestion, was to see who could find the most license plates from the most number of states. Jamie, who could name ten states off the top of her head, agreed. She knew it was about keeping Dani present, keeping her mind on something silly, something that made her feel good. </p><p>    “Oh wow, Colorado!” Dani exclaimed an hour later. “That’s twelve for me and four for you.” </p><p>    “Don’t think I’m bound to catch up on this one, Poppins.” </p><p>    “Is that admitting defeat?” Dani said, a smirk on her face. The familiar gleam of triumph in her eyes. Jamie could feel heat rise in her stomach. She would never draw tired of that face.</p><p>    “Suppose you’ve got better eyes than me.” </p><p>    Dani chuckled. Jamie took one hand off the steering wheel and rested it on Dani’s hand, which was on the arm rest between them. Absentmindedly, Dani began to rub little circles in Jamie’s palm with her thumb. Two weeks in and Jamie still lost her breath at Dani’s touch. They had been driving for a couple hours and Jamie was suddenly ready to get out of the car. To find a cozy motel sweet and cuddle up with Dani on the bed, flipping through channels, pretending either of them would pay a lick of attention to whatever movie they settled on.</p><p>    “What do you say we stop in at the next town?” <br/>***<br/>    A year later and there was now a lease to a new apartment, the keys to a new shop, Dani picking out paint and decor and Jamie growing new plants. After a few months of endless roads, hotel rooms, diners, and fun they were ready to settle down. It was exhausting, starting a new business. It demanded almost all of Jamie and Dani’s time and Jamie was just thankful they were in it together. The long days left them exhausted and they had little time to just...be.</p><p>    One day Jamie was at the store, picking up groceries for the first time in weeks, in hopes maybe this week they would have time to cook up some dinner. She passed the aisle of toys and other oddities and she stopped when she saw a shelf of board games. How long had it been since she and Dani did something as simple as play a game together? </p><p>    She arrived home with a hand full of bags that Dani helped her unpack. “This doesn’t look like groceries,” Dani said as she pulled out a game of Monopoly from the bottom of one bag. </p><p>    “Thought the two of us deserved a little fun this weekend,” Jamie explained. “A little leisure, for all our hard work.”</p><p>    Dani kissed her right on the lips, and Jamie didn’t know how much she missed these simple moments. The shop had only been open for three months now and moments like this were rare for them lately. </p><p>    Jamie ended up unloading the rest of the groceries herself, as Dani was already sitting at the kitchen table unwrapping the game and setting it up. </p><p>    “I’ll be the banker,” Dani said when Jamie joined her at the table. “Can’t have you cheatin’ on me.”</p><p>    “That, my dear, is something you never have to worry about.”</p><p>    It was the same situation as it always was. Dani took stock of every move, calculated every dollar amount before making a decision, meticulously counted her money between turns. Jamie, on the other hand, spent recklessly, barely thought through any decision she made. Jamie knew she was never going to win, she never tried when it was against Dani. </p><p>    “You’re not very good at this,” Dani said when she had two monopolies and Jamie had barely two hundred dollars to her name. “Do I need to handle all the finances myself from now on?” She teased.</p><p>    “I’ll have you know I have a game plan. Just need a little more cash to turn it around.”</p><p>    Before long it became obvious that Jamie was not going to pull herself out of this one. Not that she even tried. Dani’s hands shook as she picked up the dice, anticipation of the win on her mind. She tried to keep her face neutral as she always did. As if she could hide the fact that she was bursting from the inside, victory within her reach. </p><p>    Jamie, eventually, went into so much debt she had to admit defeat. Dani smiled wide, jumped out of her chair with her arms in the air. She did a victory dance around the kitchen. I want to be with this weirdo forever, Jamie thought as she watched the love of her life dance without abandon, pure happiness in her smile. </p><p>***<br/>    Thankfully the years kept coming and Dani was still there. She wasn’t fading away as she and Jamie had feared. They had created a life together, a good one. A thriving shop they both loved and a nice apartment to come home to at the end of the day. They made a few friends along the way. Only those who they knew would be okay with their love, who they knew would accept them no matter what. They had to pretend so much of the time, they couldn’t do it in their private life as well. </p><p>    They had game nights sometimes, mostly when the weather was cold and no one wanted to venture out to a movie or a restaurant. Just a small group, only two or four friends, was what Jamie liked. Too many people at once made her feel as though she had to be something she wasn’t. </p><p>    Jamie loved these nights because competitive Dani came out in full force. And on these occasions, she got to be on Dani’s team. She got to be part of the reason Dani’s eyes gleamed, as she was good at every game, and they always won. </p><p>    And on those nights, when everyone was warm and fuzzy off wine and victory, their friends would stumble out of their apartment at the end of the night, and Jamie would stumble with Dani as they made their way to the bedroom, high off the laughter of friends and the feeling of a proper win. Jamie didn’t know life could get so good.</p><p>***<br/>    The years remained good...until they didn’t. Something was off about Dani. She was there sometimes, chatting with customers, cooking Jamie her favorite dinner. But sometimes still, Jamie would catch her staring out a window when she was supposed to be making a new arrangement or come home from grocery shopping missing half of the food on the list. </p><p>    It’s happening, Jamie thought, dread building up in her body. I’m losing her, a little at a time. </p><p>    Most days were good. Most days Dani was there with Jamie, chatting about the neighbors or the latest news. But sometimes she wasn’t, and just like before, like right after it happened, Jamie found herself doing anything to bring Dani back to herself. </p><p>    On those nights, where Dani sat staring past the television that she was supposed to be watching, Jamie would go to the bottom of their bookshelf and pick a game of Uno or a deck of cards to play Slap Jack. And Dani would look at her and smile, and she would come back to Jamie, if only for a few moments while she concentrated on her strategy, on never missing a move, on winning. Jamie isn’t quite sure why her wife was so competitive, why she needed to win at whatever cost, why she gleamed so much self-esteem and pride from a ruthless victories. But damn if it wasn’t one of the best discoveries of Jamie’s life.</p>
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